Promise Technology Pegasus3
The Pegasus3 is available for PCs or Macs. Both are available in four-, six- or eight-bay configurations offering 12-48TB of capacity. You’ll have multiple RAID options and a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports for daisy-chaining peripherals. The Pegasus3’s hard drives are hot-swappable.
Prices: starting at 1,499
promise.com

QNAP TVS-1282T
This network-attached storage device (NAS) enclosure boasts a pair of Thunderbolt 2 ports plus three HDMI outputs (two HDMI 1.4 and one HDMI 2.0) for connecting monitors and other peripherals and four USB ports. It accepts four 2.5-inch SSD drives, eight 3.5-inch HDDs and has two slots to add SSD memory for caching, giving you faster access to frequently used data. Included QTier technology intelligently manages your data so that less frequently used files are stored on less expensive, slower HDD memory while frequently accessed data is available on faster SSD drives. There are built-in speakers for audio playback and for audible status updates about the drive. If you spring for the expansion enclosure, you can grow your capacity up to 448TB. The TVS-1282T offers either an Intel Core i5 processor with 16GB of RAM or a Core i7 processor with 32GB of RAM to drive real time, 4K or HD video transcoding. It even doubles as a Linux desktop computer.
Prices: $3,299 (core i7), $2,299 (core i5)
qnap.com

OWC ThunderBay 4
This Thunderbolt 2 drive features four 3.5-inch drive bays in a vibration-dampened and fan-cooled enclosure. You can reach 40TB in capacity with hot-swapping capability and several RAID options, including 0, 1, 4, 5 and 1+0. The ThunderBay includes SoftRAID 5 monitoring software that warns you if a drive is poised to fail—it will even email you status messages if you so desire. The software also lets you adjust RAID configurations so you can balance speed and archiving. The drive has a pair of Thunderbolt 2 ports so you can daisy-chain up to six other Thunderbolt devices to the ThunderBay and drive a 4K monitor.
Price: $730 (4tb)
macsales.com

Drobo 5C
The new USB-C interface is slowly working its way through the digital universe, and its next stop is the desktop external hard drive. Drobo is one of the first out of the gate with a USB-C disk array in the 5C. The five-bay 5C offers USB 3.0 speeds and uses the company’s BeyondRAID technology to keep your data safe. The BeyondRAID technology lets you easily move between various RAID levels. You can also use all your available storage as a single volume. The drives are self-healing and have virtual hot-spares so if a drive fails, your data can be preserved on another disk automatically. Another critical protective element is built-in battery backup technology that ensures that data currently in the cache is saved to flash memory so it’s not lost when the lights go out. The battery recharges when the power goes back on and is built to last for the life of the unit. The 5C enclosure accepts any brand 3.5-inch hard drive or SSD and can house up to 24TB worth of drives.
Price: $349 (diskless)
drobo.com

LaCie 12big Thunderbolt 3
This 12-bay RAID unit can deliver up to 96TB in capacity and uses Thunderbolt 3 to deliver transfer speeds of up to 2600MB/s in RAID 0 and 2400MB/s in RAID 5. There are two Thunderbolt 3 ports for daisy-chaining other Thunderbolt devices. The LaCie 12big employs 256MB cache/7200RPM Seagate enterprise-class hard drives rated for 8,760 hours of operation per year. The drives are hot- swappable. LaCie’s RAID Manager software has also been redesigned to make it simpler to use, the company said. The 12big ships with a USB-C-to-USB-A cable and is available in 48TB, 72TB and 96TB capacities.
Prices: starting at $6,399
lacie.com

AKiTiO Thunder3 Quad
The Thunder3 Quad (pictured) is a four-bay hard drive enclosure that uses speedy Thunderbolt 3 technology. It has two Thunderbolt 3 ports for daisy-chaining and a DisplayPort video output to connect the drive to a 4K/60Hz display. The enclosure fits either 2.5-inch SSDs and hard disk drives (HDD) or 3.5-inch HDDs. It supports up to 4TB of SSD storage and up to 32TB of HDD capacity. It even has a built-in handle if you need to transport it or make a quick getaway. If you prefer a slightly smaller desktop drive, the company’s new Quad Mini accepts four 2.5-inch SATA drives, giving you up 16TB of HDD storage. It features a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports and a DisplayPort video output that can drive a 4K monitor.
Prices: $430 (quad), $330 (quad mini)
akitio.com

Symply SymplyStor
SymplyStor is a desktop RAID storage solution designed to let up to eight different Thunderbolt-connected PCs access files. SymplyStor is available with either SSD or hard drives in capacities up to 64TB. It supports both Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 3 speeds. If you opt for the SymplyShare base station, you can double the storage capacity by adding another SymplyStor drive—the two drives in the base station will behave as a single RAID device. SymplyStor uses Apple’s Xsan networking technology to let multiple users access the same storage drives. There are monitoring apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and Apple Watch.
Prices: starting at $1,999
gosymply.com

G-Technology G-SPEED Shuttle XL
The Shuttle XL is available in capacities from 24-80TB, making it ideal for 4K video storage. This eight-bay drive uses Thunderbolt 2 (two ports) and has an integrated handle for when you need to take it on the road. It supports hardware RAID and takes enterprise-class, 7200RPM hard disks. G-Tech makes several custom readers (sold separately) that can be slipped into one of the hard drive bays for easy data transfer to the Shuttle’s hard disks. There are readers for Atomos memory, CFast 2.0 cards and RED SSDs.
Prices: starting at $3,500
g-technology.com

Buffalo DriveStation Ultra 10
Available in capacities from 12-80TB, the DriveStation Ultra is a NAS drive for both PC and Macs. It offers Thunderbolt 2 (two ports), USB 3.0 and eSATA connectivity alongside several RAID modes (JOBD, 0, 5 and 6). All the cables you’ll need for the drive are included.
Prices: starting at $2,000
buffalotech.com

Glyph Studio RAID Thunderbolt 2
The Studio RAID offers both a USB 3.0 and a Thunderbolt 2 connection for all your editing and file transfer needs. There are a pair of Thunderbolt 2 ports to support daisy-chaining multiple Thunderbolt peripherals. You’ll be able to configure a number of hardware RAID modes including RAID 0, 1, JBOD and SPAN. The drives are kept cool using the company’s intelligent quiet fan technology. It’s available in capacities ranging from 2-16TB, and a USB cable and one Thunderbolt 2 cable are included in the box. The Studio RAID is formatted out-of-the-box for Macs and is formatted for Time Machine but can be reformatted to work on Windows PCs. If you can live without Thunderbolt, the Studio RAID 4 connects via USB 3.0 and is available in capacities from 4-32TB.
Price: starting at $420
glyphtech.com

WD My Cloud Pro (PR2100)
The My Cloud Pro network attached storage is available in capacities up to 32TB with multiple RAID options. It features a front USB port for one-touch data transfers from USB devices. The NAS boasts 4GB of RAM and a hardware- accelerated video processor so that it can ingest, store and transcode various video formats for editing and streaming, including 4K content. Contents stored on the My Cloud Pro are secured via 256-bit AES encryption. It’s compatible with the Plex Media Server and Adobe’s Creative Cloud via the My Cloud app.
Prices: starting at $500
wd.com

JMR 16 Bay 3U 10G Ethernet NAS
With its rack mount design, the JMR 16 Bay drive is built for speed. It’s powered by a quad-core 3.5GHz Intel CPU and 32GB of RAM, and it’s sold in several versions that include a hardware RAID controller, 10 GB/s networking and up to 96TB of hard drive storage. Drives are hot-swappable and the unit accepts 3.5-inch SATA III drives. It’s supplied with all the hardware you’ll need to mount it to a hard drive rack. The front panel can be detached without tools.
Prices: starting at $18,295 (16tb)
jmr.com

ioSafe 216 NAS
Unlike other network-attached storage devices, the ioSafe 216 doesn’t just protect your digital files from virtual calamities; it can survive real-world disasters, too. The hard drive enclosure is fireproof and can withstand about 30 minutes in the flames. It’s also flood proof, capable of being fully submersed in up to 10 feet of water (fresh or salt) for up to 72 hours. It supports hardware encryption, and if you’re extra cautious, you can spring for an optional floor mount/padlock kit to physically lock the drive down in place. The 216 has a pair of hot-swappable hard drives for up to 16TB of capacity. It connects to your network via Ethernet but also supports wireless connections with an optional dongle.
Price: $660 (diskless)
iosafe.com

ProStorage External Hard Drive Cases
Need a home for all those external hard drives when they’re not in an enclosure? ProStorage’s hard drive cases are designed to safely house 3.5 and 2.5-inch drives (HDD, SSD and laptop drives). They’re anti-static and feature closed-cell foam to protect your drives while they sit idle. Each case can be placed into a file cabinet or an office storage box for added protection. They’re available in a range of sizes capable of holding between six and 40 drives.
Prices: starting at $40
www.getprostorage.com

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